Part 2 - Thailand

Most people make the crossing from Cambodia to Thailand by plane, but we decided to be a little adventurous, save a few bucks, and journey by land to Bangkok.  After our taxi dropped us off at the Cambodian-Thai border, we walked through immigration and asked ourselves "where do you suppose the bus station is?" 

Bath Time!

After wandering around aimlessly and avoiding tourist scams, we spotted a bright orange backpack and decided to follow the foreigner wearing it.  Sixteen minutes later (but it felt more like 17) we were at the bus stop.  We thanked God for helping us out and got on a bus to Bangkok. 


"I like big butts and I cannot lie..." 



Here is the thing about the buses in Thailand...they don't really follow much of a schedule... So, 5 hours into a supposedly 3 hour trip (which would of allotted plenty of time to make our flight), we ditched the bus and jumped in a taxi instead.   

What followed was an expensive ride to the wrong airport, a nice Asian lady telling us we would never make it to the right airport on time, and a panicked cab ride across town in rush hour traffic. 



Roasted Pidgeons at
the Chiang Mai Market

 Well, we made our flight on time and ended up in Chiang Mai, Thailand!

Now let's get to the good stuff...

We spent our time in Thailand volunteering at Elephant Nature Park, a sanctuary for abused and mistreated elephants who are free to roam and interact with volunteers as they please.  The whole day was spent feeding (they eat a TON!), bathing, and learning about Thailand's elephants.  It was sad hearing many of the elephant's stories and the techniques used in training and domesticating these wild animals so they can be used for work/tourism.  Being at the refuge completely changed our outlook and desire to ever ride an elephant.   



Elephants love mangos!



HOWEVER, the elephants in the park are definitely lucky and doing great in their new mountain home.  We will never forget them...and they better not ever forget about us!  



Mom and Baby





If you want to learn more you can go to elephantnaturepark.org, we would recommend anyone visiting Thailand to spend a day or two helping out at the refuge. 



The next day we boarded the sleeper train back to Bangkok, and caught a plane to India...